Taiwan’s government on Saturday pressed the US to approve the latest arms package for the self-ruled island.
President Donald Trump told Fox News on Friday after concluding a high-level summit with China’s Xi Jinping that he has not made a decision on a future sale when asked about it. “I may do it. I may not do it,” Trump said.
In December, the Trump administration approved a record $11 billion (9.46 billion euros) arms sales package to Taiwan.
Other media outlets, including Reuters news agency the new York Timesreported that a second deal worth about $14 billion is still awaiting Trump’s approval.
Taiwan’s Vice Foreign Minister Chen Ming-chi said earlier on Saturday that Taiwan would continue to communicate with the US to understand the situation on Washington’s behalf.
He declined to comment on the second package because it has not yet been made public.
Taiwan reminded of its commitment to provide arms to America
Karen Kuo, a spokeswoman for Taiwanese President Lai Ching-tey, said on Saturday that China’s military threat is the “single destabilizing factor” in the Indo-Pacific region, including the Taiwan Strait.
“Moreover, military sales between Taiwan and the US are not only a reflection of the US security commitment to Taiwan as set out in the Taiwan Relations Act, but also serve as a form of mutual deterrence against regional threats,” he said.
Under the Taiwan Relations Act, established in 1979, Washington is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself.
Taiwan featured prominently during Trump-Xi summit in Beijing
Xi Jinping is working to weaken the US commitment to defend Taiwan, the self-ruled island it claims. Beijing has not ruled out resorting to military action to bring Taiwan under its control.
During their meeting in Beijing earlier this week, Xi told Trump that any carelessness on the Taiwan issue could lead to an “extremely dangerous situation.”
Trump did not answer questions from reporters during the trip, but he told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Washington that he and Xi “discussed a lot” on Taiwan.
Asked about arms sales to Taiwan, Trump said he would make a decision “in the next very short time.”
Trump says US policy on Taiwan has not changed
Trump said in his interview with Fox News that US policy had not changed, although he warned Taiwan not to formally declare independence. “Nothing’s changed. That’s all I’ll say. I don’t want anyone to go free.”
Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement Saturday that Taiwan “is a sovereign and independent democratic nation, and is not subject to the People’s Republic of China.”
The US has a decades-long policy of ambivalence toward the self-ruled island. It is Taiwan’s main arms provider, but does not formally recognize it diplomatically, in line with Beijing’s One China policy.
But analysts say Trump’s discussions with China on Taiwan may test Washington Long term policy of not consulting China About sensitive topics related to Taiwan.
Edited by: Carl Sexton